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Kemi Badenoch cools talk of imminent UK-India trade deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s trade chief waved away reports that a U.K.-India trade deal is imminent or will be signed during next month’s Cricket World Cup in India.Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch said Tuesday that reports her boss Rishi Sunak will go to India next month to sign a deal to coincide with the England vs India World Cup match are “very optimistic briefing from newspapers” and that “it is possible, but I would not be setting that sort of deadline.”“We have always been very, very specific that it’s about the deal, not the day. We will get there when we have a deal which is mutually beneficial for India and the U.K.,” Badenoch told Westminster’s business and trade committee.“We’ve done a lot, so we’re quite close, but as I said [in parliament] last week …. the last few bits left are always the toughest bits,” she added.There has been fevered speculation over the past month that a deal is getting...

South Korea summons Russian ambassador after Putin and Kim summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

South Korea summoned the Russian ambassador on Tuesday to demand an immediate stop to the military cooperation between the Kremlin and North Korea, after a meeting last week between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.Seoul “strongly urged Russia to immediately halt its military cooperation with North Korea and comply with [UN] Security Council resolutions,” First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Chang Ho-jin said in a written statement after a meeting with Andrei Borisovich Kulik, the Russian ambassador.Kulik was told that Russian violations of the UN Security Council resolution on non-proliferation would have “clear consequences, and that such actions will also have a very negative impact on U.S.-Russian relations.”Kim and Putin talked about weapons and satellite tech during their summit in Russia and Putin has “gratefully” accepted an invitation to North Korea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to visit Pyongyang in October.

Rudy Giuliani’s former attorneys sue him for more than $1.3 million in unpaid legal fees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

(CNN) — A law firm that represented Rudy Giuliani during recent years of investigations and lawsuits is now suing him for more than $1.3 million in unpaid legal fees, as the former New York City mayor is facing growing bills related to fallout for his actions around the 2020 election for Donald Trump.The law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron said Giuliani had only paid $214,000 of his total legal bill, leaving him $1,360,196 indebted to them for work the firm’s attorneys did on his now-closed foreign lobbying federal criminal investigation; the January 6, 2021-related investigations by Georgia state prosecutors, the House of Representatives and the federal special counsel’s office; and in various lawsuits and attorney discipline probes that materialized after the 2020 election, according to a complaint filed in New York state court on Monday.His last payment to the firm came four days ago, for $10,000, according to the court filing.The firm handled Giuliani’s legal w...

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to remain in detention after latest appeal is denied

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

(CNN) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain behind bars after a Moscow court refused to hear an appeal against his pre-trial detention on Tuesday.The Moscow City Court said in a statement it was sending the motion back to a lower court – effectively quashing it for the time being.The decision is the latest legal setback for Gershkovich, whose pre-trial detention has been extended twice since his arrest, once in May and again in August. An appeal against his first pre-trial detention was also denied.With the court’s latest decision, Gershkovich will remain in jail until at least November 30, Russia’s Tass news agency reported.Gershkovich was arrested in March while on a reporting trip. The FSB, Russia’s main security service, accused him of trying to obtain state secrets – a charge Gershkovich and his employer have strenuously denied.If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.Journalists were allowed in the courtroom before the hearing began. Amid...

Bear spotted at Disney World prompts closure of parts of Magic Kingdom

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

(CNN) — A bear that prompted partial closures at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on Monday was captured without incident and is being relocated, according to a news release from Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.“In most cases, it is best for bears to be given space and to move along on their own, but given this situation, staff have captured the animal and are relocating the bear out of the park to an area in or around the Ocala National Forest,” FWC said.FWC added that the animal was an adult female.Nearly a dozen attractions were closed on Monday at the time authorities were trying to locate the bear at Magic Kingdom, according to the My Disney Experience app.At 11:17 am EDT, the attractions Swiss Family Treehouse, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Jungle Cruise, Enchanted Tiki Room, Pirates of the Caribbean, Country Bear Jamboree, Tom Sawyer Island, Walt Disney World Railroad, Liberty Square Riverboat, Hall of Presidents and Haunted Mansion were closed...

Biden exhorts world leaders at the UN to stand up to Russia, warns not to let Ukraine ‘be carved up’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

By AAMER MADHANI and SEUNG MIN KIM (Associated Press)UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Joe Biden made a robust case before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the world must remain united in defending Ukraine against Russian aggression, warning that no nation can be secure if “we allow Ukraine to be carved up” as he tries to rally support for Kyiv’s effort to repel a nearly 19-month-old Russian invasion that has no end in sight.The U.S. president called on world leaders to not let support for Ukraine diminish, arguing that Russia is counting on countries to grow tired of prolonged conflict in Kyiv which will “allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence.” Russia alone is standing in the way of a resolution, Biden argued, saying that Moscow’s price for peace was “Ukraine’s capitulation, Ukraine’s territory and Ukraine’s children.”“I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the United Stat...

Man killed while walking on I-5

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A man was hit and killed Sunday night while walking on Interstate 5 near downtown San Diego, California Highway Patrol said.Around 8:40 p.m., the pedestrian was walking in the southbound lanes of I-5, north of state Route 163, when he was hit by a Nissan Altima, CHP said in a news release.The man died at the scene. The driver, a 26-year-old woman, stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. 2 local ‘Bachelorette’ contestants among 5 saved after boat sinks on fishing trip The left two lanes of southbound I-5 were closed for about an hour and a half while CHP conducted their investigation.The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office will determine whether the pedestrian, who has not been publicly identified, was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Hurricane Nigel gains strength over the Atlantic Ocean

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Nigel is gaining strength over the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to intensify later this week, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.Nigel had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (145 kph) on Tuesday, making it a Category 1 hurricane. The wind speeds had increased from 80 mph (130 kph) that were reported in an earlier weather service advisory.The system was centered about 630 miles (1,010 kilometers) east of Bermuda. The island territory might see swells from Nigel that could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, forecasters said. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.The Miami-based hurricane center said Nigel could strengthen early Wednesday. However, it is expected to weaken on Thursday and Friday.The Associated Press

Ray Epps, center of a Jan. 6 conspiracy theory, is charged with a misdemeanor over the Capitol riot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ray Epps, an Arizona man who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, has been charged with a misdemeanor offense in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot, according to court papers filed Tuesday. Epps, a former Marine who claimed in a lawsuit filed this year that Fox News Channel made him a scapegoat for the Capitol riot, is charged with a count of disorderly or disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, court records show. Messages seeking comment from an attorney representing Epps in his lawsuit against Fox were not immediately returned Tuesday. There was no attorney listed in the court docket in the criminal case filed in Washington’s federal court. Epps was falsely accused by Fox of being a government agent who was whipping up trouble that would be blamed on Trump supporters, his lawsuit claims.Although the lawsuit mentions Fox’s Laura Ingraham and Will Cain, former Fox host Tucker Carlson is cited as the leader in promoting the theory...

QEW blocked in both directions south of Burlington Skyway after 2 crashes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:53:28 GMT

The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is blocked in both directions just south of the Burlington Skyway after two crashes.Police were called to the scene near the Nikola Tesla Boulevard and Eastport Drive on Tuesday morning to reports of a crash.Tractor trailer on fire #WBQEW past Eastport. Lanes blocked both ways. Listen: https://t.co/xGrbNN6JMp pic.twitter.com/rgLqkX114t— CityNews Toronto Traffic & Weather (@citynews680) September 19, 2023A crash was reported on the Toronto-bound side of the QEW, and shortly after, a tractor-trailer on the Fort Erie-bound side collided with the median nearby. The tractor-trailer then caught fire.The fire has since been extinguished. It’s unknown if the two collisions are related.There is no word on any injuries.More to come